Elegy of Emptiness
by Roloff
Summary: The war has finally ended, but with a price. Shadow reflects on the five year war against the Eggman Empire, and how things have changed with him and his new comrades. ShadAmy, KnuxRoug minor, Jet/Wave minor.


Elegy of Emptiness

Shadow walked through the dimly lit steel corridor. He was clenching his right arm trying to slow the bleeding. In an attempt to stave off one of the remaining mechanical stragglers he had taken a hard blow to his upper arm. The wound had started out small, but it refused to stop bleeding. He looked at his new comrades. Jet was sitting down, back pressed against the wall, with his eyes shut one arm around Wave. The two were huddled close and it was hard to tell if they were asleep or not. He continued his walk spotting Knuckles and Rouge up ahead. They were discussing something about emeralds. They waved as he passed by and he took note that the two were holding hands. The two were secretive about their relationship, he guessed that neither one of them could believe that they had ended up together.

As Shadow passed the echidna and bat, he neared the halls end. The door, long since torn, lead to the outside. He took a few more steps and squinted his eyes at the bright rays of the sun. It was the first time anyone had seen it in five years. He turned his head to the ground and closed his eyes. He was partially to blame for the destruction. He had been the one to tell the doctor about the ARK's weaponry. He had also been the one who sabotaged GUN headquarters. He missed the fighting. It took his mind off his past mistakes. But at the same time he was happy it was at an end.

He winced out of pain. In the process of getting caught up in his thoughts he had forgotten about his arm. He removed his hand from the wound to get a clear view. "Wow Shadow looks like you got banged up pretty bad," a light hearted voice called out from behind.

He turned to face the girl already knowing who it was, Amy Rose. The girl had managed to capture his heart. He had saved her from an onslaught when Sonic was busy chasing Eggman. He didn't blame Sonic for it though. If it weren't for him then this war would still be going on. He gave Amy the small smile and a light chuckle, "Hmph, it's nothing serious," he returned.

She took hold of his arm. Her soft touch caused him to tense up for a brief second, and only a second. She had grown over these years. She'd become strong and independent. Her quills had grown out some and they had a red tint to them at the ends. Her old dress was replaced by a sleeveless black jumpsuit with a magenta strip going up the leg. He admired the girl more than he liked to admit. He denied it at every turn, but he cared for her far beyond a simple crush. He had fallen in love with the feminine hedgehog. "Shadow this could get infected unless it's patched up properly," she said walking him back down the hall.

He rolled his eyes as he let himself be drug down the hall. "Amy I'm the world's ultimate lifeform I don't think I have to worry about something as minor as a cut," he said trying to convince her that he was fine.

It wasn't enough for her as she continued to drag him down the hall. "I won't run the risk of losing you...," her voice trailed off.

Shadow didn't protest anymore. Sonic had given his life to save all of them. It was the single most heroic event anyone had seen.

_Flashback_

_Eggman was sitting in the cockpit of his X-Eliminator. He laughed manically as he pushed buttons and pulled levers, "If I can't have the world," it seemed he had finally snapped, "NO ONE CAN."_

_Sonic dashed forward holding onto the Master Emerald. The machine was powered by the Chaos Emeralds and they were stored inside the cockpit. Shadow and Amy were keeping Eggman's robots from entering and interfering. Knuckles was trying to provide a distraction for Sonic. Unfortunately, he_ _was failing miserably. _

_Sonic ran up the mechanized monster's tentacle like arm and headed for the cockpit. He leapt off the arm and landed window of the cockpit. He smashed the window with a single blow and shattered it with the Master Emerald. His hand, stained with blood, clutched one of the Chaos Emeralds. "This is it for you Eggman," he yelled headbutting the doctor in the face. He turned and gave everyone a final thumbs up before shouting his last words. "CHAOS CONTROL!"_

_In a flash they were gone and the room fell silent. Shadow and Amy finished off the last of the robots and ran to the window of the Eggtower. Knuckles was right behind them. For a few seconds nothing, but then. Just as they were about to turn away an enormous explosion appeared in the sky. The clouds that blocked the sun cleared with the aftershock. Parts of a machine rained down, and shards of the Master emerald and Chaos Emeralds fell back to Earth. Amy took one step back and fell to her knees. Tears in her eyes she screamed the name of her lost love, "SONIC!"_

_End Flashback_

Shadow replayed the incident in his mind as Amy cleaned and dressed his small wound. In the time since that day Amy had stayed close to Shadow. He thought it was because he resembled Sonic say for color, personality, and eyes. But when questioned about it her response was a simple shake of the head no. She had never given him the direct answer, and he had never again pressed the issue. "There we go all better," she said giving him a cheerful smile.

"The sun setting, Amy, watch it with me?" was his simple question.

Her reply was equally simple, a nod yes. The two walked back up the hall and sat on the cliff. It was a beautiful sight seeing the sun set. They looked out at the city. The Eggtower still stood, and would always stand serving as a monument to those lost. Amy sighed and scooted closer to Shadow. He noted her action, yet did nothing in return. She leaned in to him a bit, hoping he would take the hint. Shadow was no idiot, and so he placed his arm around her.

They sat there for an hour or two neither one of them were counting. Soon Amy drifted off into a peaceful slumber. Shadow smiled down at the sleeping form, "Peaceful and somewhat...cute," he thought searching for the right word.

He picked up the sleeping Amy and walked, one more, down the hall this time to Amy's room. He soon reached his destination. Her room was decently plain. It had a bed with rose red sheets, steel walls like the other rooms, a dresser for her clothes, and a picture of every one of her comrades and friends. He set her down gently on her bed, and lightly pulled the covers back to tuck her in. He remembered doing this with Maria. He shook his head small memory fragments were still coming back to him.

He turned to leave, ready to get some sleep as well. As he started off he felt a tug at his arm. He turned back to see Amy holding onto his arm tears coming out of her eyes. "Please Shadow," she said sleeply, "please don't leave me I don't wanna be alone again," her tears rolled down her cheeks her grip slowly loosened, "I'm sorry Shadow-."

She was cut off by the feeling of his lips pressing softly against hers. They shared a kiss for a brief moment before he pulled away. "I won't leave you Amy," he said crawling into bed next to her.

This war has caused much pain and brought many problems. But in the end it has brought many people closer together, and taught humanity and our heros the value of life.

Ok be honest with me did you like it? I really want to know what you guys think, and I also wanna know if I made any serious flaws. Well for now I guess I'm signing off. Please leave a review if you enjoyed it and even if you didn't I still appreciate it I can work with criticism.


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